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BOOK (PRINT)

Title: The thin light of freedom : the Civil War and emancipation in the heart of America / Edward L. Ayers.

Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2017]
Copyright: ©2017
Edition: First edition.

Copies

LOCATION CALL # VOL. STATUS OPACMSG
 Warrenton Adult Non-Fiction  973.73 AYE    AVAILABLE  ---
Description: xxiii, 576 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Summary: "At the crux of Americas history stand two astounding events: the immediate and complete destruction of the most powerful system of slavery in the modern world, followed by a political reconstruction in which new constitutions established the fundamental rights of citizens for formerly enslaved people. Few people living in 1860 would have dared imagine either event, and yet, in retrospect, both seem to have been inevitable.In a beautifully crafted narrative, Edward L. Ayers restores the drama of the unexpected to the history of the Civil War. He does this by setting up at ground level in the Great Valley counties of Augusta, Virginia, and Franklin, Pennsylvania, communities that shared a prosperous landscape but were divided by the Mason-Dixon Line. From the same vantage point occupied by his unforgettable characters, Ayers captures the strategic savvy of Lee and his local lieutenants, and the clear vision of equal rights animating black troops from Pennsylvania. We see the war itself become a scourge to the Valley, its pitched battles punctuating a cycle of vicious attack and reprisal in which armies burned whole towns for retribution. In the weeks and months after emancipation, from the streets of Staunton, Virginia, we see black and white residents testing the limits of freedom as political leaders negotiate the terms of readmission to the Union. Ayers deftly shows throughout how the dynamics of political opposition drove these momentous events, transforming once unimaginable outcomes into fact. With analysis as powerful as its narrative, here is a landmark history of the Civil War."--Jacket flap.
Contents: Part one: the scourge of war: July 1863 through November 1864 -- The great invasion: May through July 1863 -- A gigantic forlorn hope: July 1863 -- The great task remaining before us: July 1863 through May 1864 -- The Earth will tremble: April through June 1864 -- To burn something in the enemy's country: June through October 1864 -- A campaign of terrible moment: September through November 1864 -- Part two: The harvest of war: December 1864 through 1902 -- The colossal suicide of world history: December 1864 through March 1865 -- The perils of peace: March through October 1865 -- Rebelism: January through December 1866 -- We must be one people: January 1867 through July 1869 -- The past is not dead: 1868 through 1902 -- Epilogue.
Bibliog.: Includes bibliographical references (pages 507-552) and index.
Subject: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Franklin (Venango County, Pa.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Augusta County (Va.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Slaves -- Emancipation -- United States.
ISBN/ISSN: 9780393292633 (hardcover)
0393292630 (hardcover)

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